In the 38th episode of CultivatED Marketer – your go-to professional development podcast for marketing and communications professionals – hosts Brent Bowen and Matt Tidwell, PhD, explore public service communications with our guest, Jazzlyn Johnson, Director of Communications for the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office. She offers invaluable insights into professional growth and the transition from journalism to public relations. This conversation is perfect for those pursuing career development in communications or seeking inspiration from leaders who thrive under pressure.
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(00:00):
Cultivated Marketer, episode 38,starting with Empathy with Jalyn Johnson.
(00:07):
In this episode of Cultivated Marketer, wespeak with director of Communications for
the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office.
Jalyn Johnson.
She's relatively early in her career, soif you are one of our listeners that is
also relatively new to your career, recentcollege graduate, just started or changed
(00:31):
careers, there are a lot of experiencesthat Jalyn shares moving from reporter.
To public relations officer and acouple of community organizations or
city organizations, and you'll wantto hear about those transitions into
those roles and what she's learned.
(01:05):
All right.
Well, on today's episode, we'regonna be talking with Jalyn Johnson.
She's at the JacksonCounty Prosecutor's Office.
Previously working for the KansasCity Mayor's Office, and really
fascinating conversation of earlystage career under a lot of pressure.
(01:26):
Like Cole not having a lotof time determined to a
diamonds kind of conversation.
Yeah.
Needing to
become a diamond very quickly.
Yeah, for sure.
Working in pressure environments.
But, you know, I I, I love this episode,Brent, because every time I talk to just
a fantastic young communicator like Jalyn,you know, my faith is restored, right?
I mean, she.
(01:47):
She just was such a breath offresh air and so super smart and,
and the listeners will hear this,but we did talk about that, right?
Just the value of working ina very pressured environment.
You just can't replace that.
And, and some of us, youknow, it gets thrust upon us.
That's the way it happened for me.
Mm-hmm.
But we always remember our first crisis.
Right.
And, and believe me, I, I had abit of a deer in the headlights.
(02:08):
Much more than it sounds like she haswhen she goes into those situations.
So I, I, I just thought she was great.
I'm so glad we got achance to, to talk to her.
Yeah, I, I'm glad we got a chance totalk to her about not only some of
the tangible skills that were sharedin that conversation, so advice very.
(02:29):
Approachable, very realistic types of tipsand and skills that could be acquired.
There was, you know, some gooddiscussion about mentorship.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
But some of the also mindset andapproaches too, just no matter
the role in the community.
So we talked about her shift frombeing a reporter to moving into
(02:51):
public service, and this could equateeven to the private sector as well.
Her foundation is empathy.
An empathy for Audi, an empathy foraudience, which I, I just think is
the perfect mindset for any sortof communicator is put yourself
in the shoes of your audience.
Right?
And so it was clear from the,from the jump, from the opening
of our conversation, that that'swhere she puts herself right from
(03:15):
the beginning, whenever she'sapproaching, whether it's a proactive
or reactive communications challenge.
Yeah.
Audience first, thinking aboutthe audience, empathy, trust.
We talked a little bit about trustand, and clearly she's a person that,
that understands, you know, thatthat's really our stock and trade as,
as our former guest here on the show.
Corey s Shearer, Dr. Corey s Sheartalks about all the time, right?
(03:36):
I mean, the trust is where it starts and.
In communications and, and she,she values that obviously, and,
and again, at a, a very young age.
And, and, you know, again,great conversation for me.
'cause as you know, I work every daywith 20, 21, 22 year olds that are
gonna be going out into our business.
And, and I just, I, I see the amountof just kind of trepidation about
their career and, and sometimesimposter syndrome, which we
(03:58):
also talked about a little bit.
Mm-hmm.
And so it's just so cool to seesomeone really, despite all of those
trappings that we all get into atthat age, who's been able to succeed
and succeed at a, a very high level.
Just again, restore my,my faith is restored.
I did.
I don't think you had to work that hard.
Really restore.
Maybe, maybe.
I, I think you're, we Yes.
(04:20):
It's not like Right.
We, we have great communicatorsaround us all the time.
At all ages.
Yes.
Just, uh, but having, you know, I mean.
Hey, imposter syndrome is a real thing.
She pointed that out and, and you dosee it, and you do have to get past it.
So I think that's why it's soimportant to keep surfacing it.
Yeah.
I think earlier in your career, even at astudent level, as you're being, as you're
trying to shape your career and you'retrying to discover what it is you're all
(04:43):
about, I think that is, it's very naturaland I hear that conversation a lot.
The only individual, I don't everhear mention imposter syndromes.
Actually for my daughter, sheis very clear, she is very
confident in what she's doing.
So, but aside from that, every, anyother young person that's relatively
new in their career, it, it becomes,it's seems like it's a common theme.
(05:04):
So I'm glad.
Yeah.
I'm glad Jalyn addressed it and.
Hopefully people can take folks thatlisten and, and others that are around
her can embrace her thoughts and reflecton those and, and jump forward with
a little bit more confidence in whatthey're trying to do, knowing that
likely they're gonna, that they'regonna fail and it's gonna be okay.
It's the best way to learn.
That was the other thing I, I lovedabout, yeah, her talk of mentorship was,
(05:29):
she said the direct feedback around.
It sounded like it was a greatrelationship where somebody, it was
a trusting relationship where hermentor said, this is what you do
well, this is what's not working.
Here's how you correct it andbe able to give that feedback.
And she said she learned from those.
Mistakes or errors or perceivedfailures more quickly than
(05:52):
anything she probably did.
Well, and I, I think that's somethingwhere, you know, folks that are earlier
in their career or inexperienced doingsomething, that's the best way to
do it is just not be afraid to fail.
You're gonna do, it's gonna happen.
Yeah.
And how cool was it?
She, she shouted at hermentor, I think twice.
And so yeah.
You know, that, that's, that's justto, to realize the value of that
(06:13):
while you're going through it at ayoung age is, is pretty impressive.
Yeah.
Very, very impressive.
Sure.
Well, and I think that's probably thebest place to leave it, is just that
we, Matt and I both found Jalyn tobe a very impressive communicator.
One, we hope we, you'll take a, and drawa lot from our conversation with her.
So with that, here's ourconversation with Jalyn Johnson.
(06:41):
Welcome to Cultivated Marketer, where wetalk marketing, professional development,
so your Garden of Opportunity grows.
This is Brent Bowen.
I'm Matt Tidwell and veryexcited for our guest today.
Our guest is the director ofCommunications for the Jackson
County Prosecutor's Officeright here in Kansas City.
So we've been doing a lot ofshows with folks outside kc.
(07:03):
We're coming back to the Heartland doinga KC show, and our guest was previously
Wild Now at the prosecutor's office, waspreviously served as the Press Secretary
for Kansas City, mayor Quentin Lucas.
Where she managed communications andmedia relations and prior to entering
public service, our guest honed herstorytelling skills and news judgment
(07:26):
as a print reporter for a black ownednewspaper, the Community Voice, she
holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalismfrom the University of Montana.
Jalyn Johnson, welcome to the show.
Thank you for having me.
Very excited for the conversation.
You bet.
You bet.
Hey, thanks Jalyn.
Gosh, so much to ask you.
Your background is fascinating.
(07:47):
We were just chatting a little bitbefore the show started about your kind
of being a, a Midwestern person, butyou went out west for college in, in
Montana, and man, what a i, I wish Iwould've been allowed to do that, Brent.
They, they kept me close tohome, but I would've loved to
experience the Great West like that.
Likewise.
I, I think my, I think my pocketbookcould only afford the University
(08:08):
of Kansas as well, so I just stay,
it was interesting for sure.
That's
what you're working with here, Jalyn.
But anyway, Hey, I wanted to, yeah,so, and, and you got your degree in,
in journalism obviously, and so, andI know that as Brent said, you spent
some time as a print reporter with thecommunity voice and now you're working
in public relations and strategiccommunications, that type of thing.
What.
(08:28):
What lessons though from your journalismtraining kind of still guide you in terms
of how you approach communications today?
Yeah.
I think one of the most important lessonsthat I learned from J School that kind
of still guides me today is, you know,when you're preparing for stories,
when you're preparing for interviews.
(08:48):
One of the things you wanna ask yourselfis, if this were happening to me or
my family, what would I wanna know?
And I think that when I was coveringreally tough stories in J School,
I was covering the missing andmurdered indigenous women's crisis.
I was covering a murder that happenedon the Northern Cheyenne Reservation
in Montana, and then even in my time.
(09:11):
At the community voice, I wascovering some tough stories on crime,
housing, some other community issues.
And that thought just constantly, whatI learned in J School was going through
my mind of, you know, what do the peopleaffected by the story need to know?
And so that guided my questions, thatguided the structure of the story.
And it wasn't just about whatwould make a good headline, it
(09:34):
was what would actually serve.
The community.
So now that I'm in the prosecutor'soffice, and even when I was at the mayor's
office, that also guided in a differentway of how I approach communications.
When, like now in the prosecutor's office,whenever we make a charging decision.
When there's a high profile caseand something con controversial
(09:56):
happens, I ask myself, whatdoes the community need to know?
Like me as a community member or me,if I was affected by this case, what
would I want my prosecutor's officeto tell me about what's going on?
And I think usually the answeris people want honesty and they
want things explained clearly andaccurately, and they wanna know things.
(10:20):
Quickly.
So I think that guides a lotof the things that we do for
communications in this office.
Yeah, I love that.
Communicating real worldIm impact for sure.
And it's, mm-hmm.
It's important on both sides.
Hey, maybe just a quick follow up becauseI'm interested, because I actually
teach a a, a journalism school myself.
As you think back to your J school career,were there things that you felt like.
(10:44):
Now that you've been out in theprofession for a while, that maybe
should have been more emphasized.
Or maybe if you're like me, you wish youwould've paid a little more attention
to, or, or, or just weren't even,maybe weren't even covered at all.
I just think that's so cruciallyimportant because I'm working with new
graduates right all the time, and I'mconstantly asking myself, are we really
equipping them with what they're gonnaneed when they're out in the field?
(11:05):
Whether that be in the.
Big J journalism media, youknow, media side or working more
pr, strategic communications.
Anything that you wish would've beenmaybe a little bit more emphasized?
Yeah, and I mentioned covering themissing and murdered indigenous women's
crisis, and that really opened my eyesto stories that are just not being told.
And I think there's still so manystories in communities that are totally
(11:30):
undercovered, and I think that's somethingwe need to pay more attention to.
I think in journalism, is lookingfor those stories and giving
people a voice because as ajournalist we, we have that power.
So I think just looking for thosestories is really important.
Yeah, so you mentioned Jalyn, that some ofthe similarities in serving the community
(11:53):
between whether it's journalism or nowthat you've moved into public service.
Right.
So that, but that can be a big leap,either moving to public service
or moving into the private sector.
I have a, a formerintern of mine that I'll.
She'll remain nameless, but shemade that transition as well working
in community journalism and nowworks for a big PR firm in town.
(12:14):
And so I, we've gotten together for lunch.
She's, she talks about that shift.
What, aside from the similarities,what were maybe some of the things that
surprised you a bit in that transition?
I think the work life balance isa lot different that you're on
24 7 in public service, in thecomms, especially in crisis comms.
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But for me, I love the high stakes.
Just experience of it all and just theimpact that you can make when things
kind of settle down after a crisis.
It, it just kind of makes it all worth it.
The difference.
What surprising me being in theprosecutor's office, I'd say is
some of the legal complexities.
(13:01):
I knew there were gonna besome legal barriers as far as.
Answering media requests and thingslike that, but I didn't realize
just how much we can't share thatI really want to share, and that's
because of ongoing investigationsand Missouri law, frankly, just.
(13:24):
Just bans us from sharinga lot of information.
So that's kind of hard.
But to get over that hump, you justhave to be transparent and tell them
why we can't share that information.
So yeah, those are probablythe biggest surprises.
Yeah, I noticed that.
And in the shift you hadfrom community voice to.
(13:46):
You said what folks would want to knowand versus need to know that, that
subtle shift, and I imagine those legalcomplexities probably factor into that
need component and was probably a bigpart of your transition, I imagine.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
That that's great.
And, and actually that's a great segue.
I was gonna ask you aboutchallenges specific to.
'cause you're, you're definitelyin a, in a very niched area right?
(14:08):
And kind of the legal and, and justicebased and justice focused environments.
Any other challenges that are kind ofspecific to, to that field that maybe
those of us working in either kind of asa generalist in PR or working in another
industry like healthcare or something likethat, that we'd be interested to know?
I think for the prosecutor's office and,and I think this probably would apply
(14:30):
to other comms industries as well as.
The massive misinformation that weface and that we have to combat,
and it's just knowledge gaps really.
The criminal justice systemis just so complicated, and
Missouri law is so complicated.
I remember when I first started.
A couple of the first issues we hadwere people didn't really understand
(14:56):
who sets Bond, and so we were kindof getting some hate about, you know,
letting people go for certain crimes.
When prosecutors only recommendbond, we don't set bond.
And then also Missouri self-defenselaw, there's a lot of misinformation
about that and that's.
(15:16):
Missouri self-defense law is alsovery complicated, and so when
misinformation spreads on social media,we've seen it just fly like wildfire.
So that's a big challenge thatwe're really trying to work on.
We're really trying to be proactiveabout it using social media.
(15:36):
And we have a video series calledUnderstanding the Justice System, where
we kind of explain those ideas and thoselaws and that terminology in a way that
is more understandable and plain English.
And we have our prosecutor right in frontof the camera speaking to the people.
(15:57):
So that kind of builds that trust andalso just explains it before we have
a case that involves self-defense.
We have people who are upset thatmaybe we couldn't file charges and
we can refer back to that videoor that post and mitigate that
crisis before it gets out of hand.
(16:18):
But misinformation is a big one.
And then also just beingin the prosecutor's office,
our emotional stakes are.
High every day.
Like every case is someone's worst day.
I mean, if we have a high profilecase, just like I said in like let's
(16:38):
say a self-defense case, then wecan't file charges or we don't have
enough evidence to file charges.
We have to explain that to thefamily, and that causes a lot of pain.
And we also have to educate themabout why we can't file charges.
And then it's my job to explainto the community again, if
(17:00):
it's a high profile case.
Explain the law, but also beempathetic while doing it.
So it's, it, it has to be adelicate balance and it's, it's
a skill that I'm still learning.
And honestly, it's very different frombeing at city Hall in the mayor's office.
But yeah, it's, it's challenging,but I think rewarding once people.
(17:24):
Once we see comments of people saying theyunderstand now that, you know, we have the
prosecutor with her video explaining thelaw or our statement clearly lays it out.
Yeah.
Public trust is, is a big deal.
And you've already started and, andyou juxtaposed that against something
(17:45):
like you said, where each one of thesecases are so, can be so deeply personal.
Right.
The, the way you phrase that,this is somebody's worst day.
Right.
And so you've already given us acouple ways in which that you work to
kind of build the, the public trust.
I love the the video seriesidea of understand the justice
system and using it just in time.
(18:07):
Yeah.
Right.
When you have one of these types of cases.
And then you also earlier referenced why.
Like framing things in the why,if you can address something,
why you can't address it.
But what are maybe some other thingsthat you're, you're doing or some other
tips that, or things you guys employto help kind of build the, the public
trust by, while also maintaining theintegrity of the case that's going on.
(18:32):
Yeah, like I said, we do explain the why,the limit behind our limitations, but
we also share what we can share legally.
So we share our charging decisions.
We share data.
We just released a publicdashboard about, 'cause October is
domestic violence awareness month.
(18:52):
We just released a domesticviolence dashboard that just has.
A bunch of data about our filing ratesand, and how many cases we've disposed,
and I think that really increases ourtransparency for the community that we're
sharing all of this data, like look.
(19:12):
We are at work for you, and itmakes people feel like they can
come forward with their cases andfeel like something will be done.
So I think that's a big oneof just willingly sharing.
That information and not beingsilent and not just sharing
(19:34):
things when there's a crisis.
Yeah.
We share things every single day.
You know her in the community at an event,and so that kind of builds the trust
that, that I think people are looking for,
not just community at large,but if I heard you correctly,
even with some of the.
The potential crimes that are maybehave some, historically have had
(19:58):
some stigma associated with them.
It's even with the, to establishtrust with potential victims of
those to be able to come forward.
Right.
Exactly.
Yes.
Yep.
Okay.
Yeah, that's, that's fascinating.
From an intense
standpoint.
Okay.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But I love what you said about beingtransparent all the time, right?
Not just during a crisisto help build that trust.
(20:18):
That's, that's absolutely.
I do some work in crisis communications,and we certainly preach that all the time.
I know, though, as a former organizationalcommunicator, myself and, and Brent was
one also, that, you know, oftentimeswe're kind of in the middle, right?
We've got the.
We've got our ultimatestakeholder audience, our
customers, the people we serve.
We have the bosses who write ourpaychecks or who sign our paychecks.
We've got the media, and so we'resort of in the, we're in the
(20:41):
crossfire of all three of those.
And so I'm just curioushow, how do you handle that?
That part of kind of serving allof those different stakeholders.
Do you tailor messages differentlywhen you're speaking to media, public,
internal stakeholders, like maybeprosecutors, staff, things like that?
How I know that being, beingin the middle can be tough.
I'm just curious as, as tohow that's going for you.
(21:01):
Yeah.
They're completely differentaudiences and they all definitely
have different needs in.
Kinda different languages.
So yeah, definitely with the generalpublic, we're speaking to them in plain
English, no legal jargon, mostly on socialmedia with our, you know, understanding
the justice system series videos.
(21:24):
And then I think we're alwaysvery responsive to media to
build that trust with them.
And then internally, what Ilike to do is, so when I first.
Stepped into the prosecutor's office.
I kind of set a foundation for ourprosecutors on the types of cases that we
(21:44):
wanted to publicize, and because they'refocused on their cases, and it just makes
it easier for me to give them a list ofthings that I'm interested in posting on
social media and praising the office for.
So just having that.
Communication with them and teachingthem what's newsworthy really.
And then anytime we do publicize acase and I write a press release for a
(22:10):
case I make sure I always get withoutprosecutor, just because these cases
are so sensitive, I always include themin any communications externally about
the case just so that nothing's ever.
Ruined, but, and I think they alwaysappreciate that, that they know what's
going on and what they read tomorrow.
(22:32):
They know.
So yeah.
So there, yeah, definitelydifferent messages between all
three externally and internally.
And then with media for sure.
One of the things you mentionedjust there, Jalyn, was this notion
of working within the prosecutor'soffice to help appreciate or
understand what's newsworthy.
(22:53):
That's definitely a skillor a mindset, right?
Mm-hmm.
And so the question I have foryou that the, you probably had to
pick that up through experience.
So what, what skills or mindsetsdo you believe young communicators,
whether they're place yourselfback at the University of
Montana or their first role at.
What skill or mindsets do you believeyoung communicators are earlier
(23:15):
in their career communicators?
I, I know people that are 60 years old andare new to the communications profession,
so this could apply to them too.
So that are earlier in theircareer and communications.
What, what should they start developing a,as they're learning about the profession
or as they first start in the profession?
I think the most important thingthat I've learned to me is build
(23:41):
your relationships with reporters.
Make them strong.
Be responsive with reporters, becauseespecially if you're going into a.
Something like this where you're gonna bedealing with crises and you're gonna be
working with reporters a lot and havingsome tough conversations sometimes.
Make sure you build strongrelationships with reporters.
(24:04):
I make sure that I. Anytime there'slike a new reporter, make sure I get
coffee with them and get to know them.
Answer the phone every time they call.
Even if you know it's a tough conversationthat's coming, or you've had tough
conversations in the past, just answerit because you never know when a crisis
(24:25):
may come and you might need to call themand just talk to them on background or
off record and just explain to them.
What's going on, and you can't do thatunless you've built a trust with them.
So that's, I think, for me, number one.
Another thing specifically for crisiscommunications, stay calm under pressure.
(24:49):
Yeah.
Because if you're panicking,you're not making good decisions.
And yeah, just pause, breathe,be calm, because everyone
around you is looking to you as.
The communicator to make thebest decision in that moment.
So yeah, stay calm.
Stay calm.
Focus, breathing and yoga.
(25:09):
Part of the regimen for you then.
Yeah,
yeah, yeah.
It can.
It can be rough, but, and then I'd sayone more thing is also find a mentor
who will tell you the truth because.
And maybe I'll giveher a little shout out.
(25:30):
My chief of staff at the mayor'soffice, her name is Morgan Sid.
She was the communications directorbefore I started working there.
She's still my mentor today and shetold me when I messed up and she also
praised me when I did a good job.
So find someone whowill tell you the truth.
(25:50):
Will tell you when you mess up and tellyou how to do something better, because
that's where the learning happens.
And I've learned so much from my mistakesand I will never forget my mistakes.
Um, so yeah.
That's excellent.
Thank you.
That's great.
That's great.
Yeah, for sure.
And you know, it just strikes me to hearyou, you talking Jalyn, that that the
(26:11):
experience, particularly as a youngercommunicator of working in pressured
environments, I think is actually gonnaserve folks like you very, very well.
Right.
I wish I, I know when I started in,in PR I was working for an agency and.
We were doing a lot of kind ofsunshine pump things around product
launches and stuff, but I mean,the stakes were very low, right?
And so then all of a sudden, guess what?
I get hired by a client workingfor a major pharmaceutical company
(26:34):
that was having employee layoffsand product tampering, and all of
these things being thrown at me.
I had not experienced because I had notreally worked in a pressured environment.
So the experience that, that you'regetting and and communicators like you
that work in the, in those fields, Ithink is just gonna be super valuable
to you moving forward because you,you've really been through the fire,
which I think is just really cool anda credit to you for, for doing that.
(26:56):
Maybe just to kind of segue, and you'vebeen very generous with your time.
Thank you.
As, as we kind of wind up ourconversation and you, you mentioned
one, so, so if that's, if that wouldbe your main answer, let me know that.
But just having worked in the differentenvironments that you have already,
media, city, government, justice system,if you could go back, if you could go
back and talk to, you know, senior yearJalyn, for instance, what's one piece
of advice you wish you'd had at thestart of that career journey that, that
(27:20):
you think would, would've served youwell at, at that particular juncture?
I think you kind of have todevelop a thick skin, and I think
with me being so young, I got alittle bit of imposter syndrome
that maybe I, I don't belong here.
I'm too young for somethinglike this, but that's not true.
I think your work shows.
(27:41):
For it, no matter what age you are andgoing back to develop your thick skin,
you will get criticized and I mean, notyou personally, but your organization.
And it will feel personal,but don't take it personal.
And I think you kind of haveto differentiate the trolls
(28:01):
from legitimate criticism.
And I wish I would'velearned that earlier.
Yeah, that's, that's a tough one.
That's a tough one to learn, by the way.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I still would deal with ittoday, but I wish someone
would've told me that earlier.
Yeah, that's the whole IRAglass thing that I love.
I don't know if you've seen thosevideos Jalyn about particularly people.
(28:25):
Like yourself and others that areearlier in their career and you know,
they're just uber talented, right?
And, but you maybe not haveencountered all those failures.
And so there's a whole video seriesabout Ira Glass around having great
taste and great, the desire for greatability, but you're not just there yet.
(28:46):
So you have this whole impostersyndrome about you and you just,
he calls it getting out the suck.
You just have to get the, like, youjust have to get all the suck out.
And just get through.
And it's just the 10,000 hours ofgetting all this crap out of your
system and not worrying about beingan imposter, just like firing forward.
So, yeah,
I love that.
Yeah.
(29:07):
Yeah.
Confidence, confidence is so important.
Exactly.
And then, you know, I see it, I, I,I try to remind myself all the time
working with, you know, what will benew graduates in, in this field that,
you know, you gotta be confident.
You, you know, it's the whole thing.
You can do hard, we cando hard things, right.
We just mm-hmm.
And so keeping that reminder.
Piece up I think is just super important.
So
yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Thank you.
As Matt, this has been great.
(29:27):
As Matt has mentioned, we'vereally appreciated this.
Is there anything elseyou'd like to mention?
Like we are not all knowing, we arenot all being in the questions that
we framed here, so is there anythingelse that you'd like to mention to our,
our audience that we may have missed?
I don't think so.
I really appreciate youguys for having me on.
This has been really cool.
(29:48):
Maybe I, I will just shout outour prosecutor, Melissa Johnson.
She is the first black prosecutoryoungest ever elected in Jackson County.
And I think just being a part ofthat, it just means a lot to me.
And then also, if you wanna follow uson our social media platforms to see
that transparency we've been talkingabout in action, our Instagram is.
(30:12):
JCO Prosecutor, JACO, prosecutor,Instagram and X, and then Jackson
County Prosecutor on Facebook.
That's excellent.
We'll make sure to featurethe links to the social media
accounts and the show notes.
And while we're at it, while we're, we'redoing a shout out, let's give another
shout out to the mentor, your mentor.
Again, I love that youshouted out your mentor.
(30:34):
I want you to do it one more time.
That'd be awesome.
Yes.
Morgan Saeed.
She is the best.
She is brilliant in the communicationsand government world, period.
So she's amazing.
Okay, so we'll make sure she gets ashout out in the show notes and then
also when we post this on social media,she'll get tagged and, and tagged in this
and make sure that she understands thatyou shared the love of her mentorship.
(30:56):
'cause that's what the show's allabout is professional development
and mentorship's a huge part of that.
Well, we've really enjoyedthe conversation today, Jalyn.
Thank you so much for.
For joining us and being with us today.
Thank you.
Really appreciate theopportunity for you guys.
Thank you.
Thanks, Jalyn.
If you found value in today'sepisode, check us out on our
(31:17):
website cultivated marketer.com.
You'll also be able to subscribe to us.
Rate us, and leave us a comment onyour favorite podcast platform such as
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher.
Remember, a garden of opportunity grows.
With cultivated marketer.
Cultivated Marketer, episode 38,starting with Empathy with Jalyn Johnson.
(00:07):
In this episode of Cultivated Marketer, wespeak with director of Communications for
the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office.
Jalyn Johnson.
She's relatively early in her career, soif you are one of our listeners that is
also relatively new to your career, recentcollege graduate, just started or changed
(00:31):
careers, there are a lot of experiencesthat Jalyn shares moving from reporter.
To public relations officer and acouple of community organizations or
city organizations, and you'll wantto hear about those transitions into
those roles and what she's learned.
(01:05):
All right.
Well, on today's episode, we'regonna be talking with Jalyn Johnson.
She's at the JacksonCounty Prosecutor's Office.
Previously working for the KansasCity Mayor's Office, and really
fascinating conversation of earlystage career under a lot of pressure.
(01:26):
Like Cole not having a lotof time determined to a
diamonds kind of conversation.
Yeah.
Needing to
become a diamond very quickly.
Yeah, for sure.
Working in pressure environments.
But, you know, I I, I love this episode,Brent, because every time I talk to just
a fantastic young communicator like Jalyn,you know, my faith is restored, right?
I mean, she.
(01:47):
She just was such a breath offresh air and so super smart and,
and the listeners will hear this,but we did talk about that, right?
Just the value of working ina very pressured environment.
You just can't replace that.
And, and some of us, youknow, it gets thrust upon us.
That's the way it happened for me.
Mm-hmm.
But we always remember our first crisis.
Right.
And, and believe me, I, I had abit of a deer in the headlights.
(02:08):
Much more than it sounds like she haswhen she goes into those situations.
So I, I, I just thought she was great.
I'm so glad we got achance to, to talk to her.
Yeah, I, I'm glad we got a chance totalk to her about not only some of
the tangible skills that were sharedin that conversation, so advice very.
(02:29):
Approachable, very realistic types of tipsand and skills that could be acquired.
There was, you know, some gooddiscussion about mentorship.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
But some of the also mindset andapproaches too, just no matter
the role in the community.
So we talked about her shift frombeing a reporter to moving into
(02:51):
public service, and this could equateeven to the private sector as well.
Her foundation is empathy.
An empathy for Audi, an empathy foraudience, which I, I just think is
the perfect mindset for any sortof communicator is put yourself
in the shoes of your audience.
Right?
And so it was clear from the,from the jump, from the opening
of our conversation, that that'swhere she puts herself right from
(03:15):
the beginning, whenever she'sapproaching, whether it's a proactive
or reactive communications challenge.
Yeah.
Audience first, thinking aboutthe audience, empathy, trust.
We talked a little bit about trustand, and clearly she's a person that,
that understands, you know, thatthat's really our stock and trade as,
as our former guest here on the show.
Corey s Shearer, Dr. Corey s Sheartalks about all the time, right?
(03:36):
I mean, the trust is where it starts and.
In communications and, and she,she values that obviously, and,
and again, at a, a very young age.
And, and, you know, again,great conversation for me.
'cause as you know, I work every daywith 20, 21, 22 year olds that are
gonna be going out into our business.
And, and I just, I, I see the amountof just kind of trepidation about
their career and, and sometimesimposter syndrome, which we
(03:58):
also talked about a little bit.
Mm-hmm.
And so it's just so cool to seesomeone really, despite all of those
trappings that we all get into atthat age, who's been able to succeed
and succeed at a, a very high level.
Just again, restore my,my faith is restored.
I did.
I don't think you had to work that hard.
Really restore.
Maybe, maybe.
I, I think you're, we Yes.
(04:20):
It's not like Right.
We, we have great communicatorsaround us all the time.
At all ages.
Yes.
Just, uh, but having, you know, I mean.
Hey, imposter syndrome is a real thing.
She pointed that out and, and you dosee it, and you do have to get past it.
So I think that's why it's soimportant to keep surfacing it.
Yeah.
I think earlier in your career, even at astudent level, as you're being, as you're
trying to shape your career and you'retrying to discover what it is you're all
(04:43):
about, I think that is, it's very naturaland I hear that conversation a lot.
The only individual, I don't everhear mention imposter syndromes.
Actually for my daughter, sheis very clear, she is very
confident in what she's doing.
So, but aside from that, every, anyother young person that's relatively
new in their career, it, it becomes,it's seems like it's a common theme.
(05:04):
So I'm glad.
Yeah.
I'm glad Jalyn addressed it and.
Hopefully people can take folks thatlisten and, and others that are around
her can embrace her thoughts and reflecton those and, and jump forward with
a little bit more confidence in whatthey're trying to do, knowing that
likely they're gonna, that they'regonna fail and it's gonna be okay.
It's the best way to learn.
That was the other thing I, I lovedabout, yeah, her talk of mentorship was,
(05:29):
she said the direct feedback around.
It sounded like it was a greatrelationship where somebody, it was
a trusting relationship where hermentor said, this is what you do
well, this is what's not working.
Here's how you correct it andbe able to give that feedback.
And she said she learned from those.
Mistakes or errors or perceivedfailures more quickly than
(05:52):
anything she probably did.
Well, and I, I think that's somethingwhere, you know, folks that are earlier
in their career or inexperienced doingsomething, that's the best way to
do it is just not be afraid to fail.
You're gonna do, it's gonna happen.
Yeah.
And how cool was it?
She, she shouted at hermentor, I think twice.
And so yeah.
You know, that, that's, that's justto, to realize the value of that
(06:13):
while you're going through it at ayoung age is, is pretty impressive.
Yeah.
Very, very impressive.
Sure.
Well, and I think that's probably thebest place to leave it, is just that
we, Matt and I both found Jalyn tobe a very impressive communicator.
One, we hope we, you'll take a, and drawa lot from our conversation with her.
So with that, here's ourconversation with Jalyn Johnson.
(06:41):
Welcome to Cultivated Marketer, where wetalk marketing, professional development,
so your Garden of Opportunity grows.
This is Brent Bowen.
I'm Matt Tidwell and veryexcited for our guest today.
Our guest is the director ofCommunications for the Jackson
County Prosecutor's Officeright here in Kansas City.
So we've been doing a lot ofshows with folks outside kc.
(07:03):
We're coming back to the Heartland doinga KC show, and our guest was previously
Wild Now at the prosecutor's office, waspreviously served as the Press Secretary
for Kansas City, mayor Quentin Lucas.
Where she managed communications andmedia relations and prior to entering
public service, our guest honed herstorytelling skills and news judgment
(07:26):
as a print reporter for a black ownednewspaper, the Community Voice, she
holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalismfrom the University of Montana.
Jalyn Johnson, welcome to the show.
Thank you for having me.
Very excited for the conversation.
You bet.
You bet.
Hey, thanks Jalyn.
Gosh, so much to ask you.
Your background is fascinating.
(07:47):
We were just chatting a little bitbefore the show started about your kind
of being a, a Midwestern person, butyou went out west for college in, in
Montana, and man, what a i, I wish Iwould've been allowed to do that, Brent.
They, they kept me close tohome, but I would've loved to
experience the Great West like that.
Likewise.
I, I think my, I think my pocketbookcould only afford the University
(08:08):
of Kansas as well, so I just stay,
it was interesting for sure.
That's
what you're working with here, Jalyn.
But anyway, Hey, I wanted to, yeah,so, and, and you got your degree in,
in journalism obviously, and so, andI know that as Brent said, you spent
some time as a print reporter with thecommunity voice and now you're working
in public relations and strategiccommunications, that type of thing.
What.
(08:28):
What lessons though from your journalismtraining kind of still guide you in terms
of how you approach communications today?
Yeah.
I think one of the most important lessonsthat I learned from J School that kind
of still guides me today is, you know,when you're preparing for stories,
when you're preparing for interviews.
(08:48):
One of the things you wanna ask yourselfis, if this were happening to me or
my family, what would I wanna know?
And I think that when I was coveringreally tough stories in J School,
I was covering the missing andmurdered indigenous women's crisis.
I was covering a murder that happenedon the Northern Cheyenne Reservation
in Montana, and then even in my time.
(09:11):
At the community voice, I wascovering some tough stories on crime,
housing, some other community issues.
And that thought just constantly, whatI learned in J School was going through
my mind of, you know, what do the peopleaffected by the story need to know?
And so that guided my questions, thatguided the structure of the story.
And it wasn't just about whatwould make a good headline, it
(09:34):
was what would actually serve.
The community.
So now that I'm in the prosecutor'soffice, and even when I was at the mayor's
office, that also guided in a differentway of how I approach communications.
When, like now in the prosecutor's office,whenever we make a charging decision.
When there's a high profile caseand something con controversial
(09:56):
happens, I ask myself, whatdoes the community need to know?
Like me as a community member or me,if I was affected by this case, what
would I want my prosecutor's officeto tell me about what's going on?
And I think usually the answeris people want honesty and they
want things explained clearly andaccurately, and they wanna know things.
(10:20):
Quickly.
So I think that guides a lotof the things that we do for
communications in this office.
Yeah, I love that.
Communicating real worldIm impact for sure.
And it's, mm-hmm.
It's important on both sides.
Hey, maybe just a quick follow up becauseI'm interested, because I actually
teach a a, a journalism school myself.
As you think back to your J school career,were there things that you felt like.
(10:44):
Now that you've been out in theprofession for a while, that maybe
should have been more emphasized.
Or maybe if you're like me, you wish youwould've paid a little more attention
to, or, or, or just weren't even,maybe weren't even covered at all.
I just think that's so cruciallyimportant because I'm working with new
graduates right all the time, and I'mconstantly asking myself, are we really
equipping them with what they're gonnaneed when they're out in the field?
(11:05):
Whether that be in the.
Big J journalism media, youknow, media side or working more
pr, strategic communications.
Anything that you wish would've beenmaybe a little bit more emphasized?
Yeah, and I mentioned covering themissing and murdered indigenous women's
crisis, and that really opened my eyesto stories that are just not being told.
And I think there's still so manystories in communities that are totally
(11:30):
undercovered, and I think that's somethingwe need to pay more attention to.
I think in journalism, is lookingfor those stories and giving
people a voice because as ajournalist we, we have that power.
So I think just looking for thosestories is really important.
Yeah, so you mentioned Jalyn, that some ofthe similarities in serving the community
(11:53):
between whether it's journalism or nowthat you've moved into public service.
Right.
So that, but that can be a big leap,either moving to public service
or moving into the private sector.
I have a, a formerintern of mine that I'll.
She'll remain nameless, but shemade that transition as well working
in community journalism and nowworks for a big PR firm in town.
(12:14):
And so I, we've gotten together for lunch.
She's, she talks about that shift.
What, aside from the similarities,what were maybe some of the things that
surprised you a bit in that transition?
I think the work life balance isa lot different that you're on
24 7 in public service, in thecomms, especially in crisis comms.
(12:38):
But for me, I love the high stakes.
Just experience of it all and just theimpact that you can make when things
kind of settle down after a crisis.
It, it just kind of makes it all worth it.
The difference.
What surprising me being in theprosecutor's office, I'd say is
some of the legal complexities.
(13:01):
I knew there were gonna besome legal barriers as far as.
Answering media requests and thingslike that, but I didn't realize
just how much we can't share thatI really want to share, and that's
because of ongoing investigationsand Missouri law, frankly, just.
(13:24):
Just bans us from sharinga lot of information.
So that's kind of hard.
But to get over that hump, you justhave to be transparent and tell them
why we can't share that information.
So yeah, those are probablythe biggest surprises.
Yeah, I noticed that.
And in the shift you hadfrom community voice to.
(13:46):
You said what folks would want to knowand versus need to know that, that
subtle shift, and I imagine those legalcomplexities probably factor into that
need component and was probably a bigpart of your transition, I imagine.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
That that's great.
And, and actually that's a great segue.
I was gonna ask you aboutchallenges specific to.
'cause you're, you're definitelyin a, in a very niched area right?
(14:08):
And kind of the legal and, and justicebased and justice focused environments.
Any other challenges that are kind ofspecific to, to that field that maybe
those of us working in either kind of asa generalist in PR or working in another
industry like healthcare or something likethat, that we'd be interested to know?
I think for the prosecutor's office and,and I think this probably would apply
(14:30):
to other comms industries as well as.
The massive misinformation that weface and that we have to combat,
and it's just knowledge gaps really.
The criminal justice systemis just so complicated, and
Missouri law is so complicated.
I remember when I first started.
A couple of the first issues we hadwere people didn't really understand
(14:56):
who sets Bond, and so we were kindof getting some hate about, you know,
letting people go for certain crimes.
When prosecutors only recommendbond, we don't set bond.
And then also Missouri self-defenselaw, there's a lot of misinformation
about that and that's.
(15:16):
Missouri self-defense law is alsovery complicated, and so when
misinformation spreads on social media,we've seen it just fly like wildfire.
So that's a big challenge thatwe're really trying to work on.
We're really trying to be proactiveabout it using social media.
(15:36):
And we have a video series calledUnderstanding the Justice System, where
we kind of explain those ideas and thoselaws and that terminology in a way that
is more understandable and plain English.
And we have our prosecutor right in frontof the camera speaking to the people.
(15:57):
So that kind of builds that trust andalso just explains it before we have
a case that involves self-defense.
We have people who are upset thatmaybe we couldn't file charges and
we can refer back to that videoor that post and mitigate that
crisis before it gets out of hand.
(16:18):
But misinformation is a big one.
And then also just beingin the prosecutor's office,
our emotional stakes are.
High every day.
Like every case is someone's worst day.
I mean, if we have a high profilecase, just like I said in like let's
(16:38):
say a self-defense case, then wecan't file charges or we don't have
enough evidence to file charges.
We have to explain that to thefamily, and that causes a lot of pain.
And we also have to educate themabout why we can't file charges.
And then it's my job to explainto the community again, if
(17:00):
it's a high profile case.
Explain the law, but also beempathetic while doing it.
So it's, it, it has to be adelicate balance and it's, it's
a skill that I'm still learning.
And honestly, it's very different frombeing at city Hall in the mayor's office.
But yeah, it's, it's challenging,but I think rewarding once people.
(17:24):
Once we see comments of people saying theyunderstand now that, you know, we have the
prosecutor with her video explaining thelaw or our statement clearly lays it out.
Yeah.
Public trust is, is a big deal.
And you've already started and, andyou juxtaposed that against something
(17:45):
like you said, where each one of thesecases are so, can be so deeply personal.
Right.
The, the way you phrase that,this is somebody's worst day.
Right.
And so you've already given us acouple ways in which that you work to
kind of build the, the public trust.
I love the the video seriesidea of understand the justice
system and using it just in time.
(18:07):
Yeah.
Right.
When you have one of these types of cases.
And then you also earlier referenced why.
Like framing things in the why,if you can address something,
why you can't address it.
But what are maybe some other thingsthat you're, you're doing or some other
tips that, or things you guys employto help kind of build the, the public
trust by, while also maintaining theintegrity of the case that's going on.
(18:32):
Yeah, like I said, we do explain the why,the limit behind our limitations, but
we also share what we can share legally.
So we share our charging decisions.
We share data.
We just released a publicdashboard about, 'cause October is
domestic violence awareness month.
(18:52):
We just released a domesticviolence dashboard that just has.
A bunch of data about our filing ratesand, and how many cases we've disposed,
and I think that really increases ourtransparency for the community that we're
sharing all of this data, like look.
(19:12):
We are at work for you, and itmakes people feel like they can
come forward with their cases andfeel like something will be done.
So I think that's a big oneof just willingly sharing.
That information and not beingsilent and not just sharing
(19:34):
things when there's a crisis.
Yeah.
We share things every single day.
You know her in the community at an event,and so that kind of builds the trust
that, that I think people are looking for,
not just community at large,but if I heard you correctly,
even with some of the.
The potential crimes that are maybehave some, historically have had
(19:58):
some stigma associated with them.
It's even with the, to establishtrust with potential victims of
those to be able to come forward.
Right.
Exactly.
Yes.
Yep.
Okay.
Yeah, that's, that's fascinating.
From an intense
standpoint.
Okay.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But I love what you said about beingtransparent all the time, right?
Not just during a crisisto help build that trust.
(20:18):
That's, that's absolutely.
I do some work in crisis communications,and we certainly preach that all the time.
I know, though, as a former organizationalcommunicator, myself and, and Brent was
one also, that, you know, oftentimeswe're kind of in the middle, right?
We've got the.
We've got our ultimatestakeholder audience, our
customers, the people we serve.
We have the bosses who write ourpaychecks or who sign our paychecks.
We've got the media, and so we'resort of in the, we're in the
(20:41):
crossfire of all three of those.
And so I'm just curioushow, how do you handle that?
That part of kind of serving allof those different stakeholders.
Do you tailor messages differentlywhen you're speaking to media, public,
internal stakeholders, like maybeprosecutors, staff, things like that?
How I know that being, beingin the middle can be tough.
I'm just curious as, as tohow that's going for you.
(21:01):
Yeah.
They're completely differentaudiences and they all definitely
have different needs in.
Kinda different languages.
So yeah, definitely with the generalpublic, we're speaking to them in plain
English, no legal jargon, mostly on socialmedia with our, you know, understanding
the justice system series videos.
(21:24):
And then I think we're alwaysvery responsive to media to
build that trust with them.
And then internally, what Ilike to do is, so when I first.
Stepped into the prosecutor's office.
I kind of set a foundation for ourprosecutors on the types of cases that we
(21:44):
wanted to publicize, and because they'refocused on their cases, and it just makes
it easier for me to give them a list ofthings that I'm interested in posting on
social media and praising the office for.
So just having that.
Communication with them and teachingthem what's newsworthy really.
And then anytime we do publicize acase and I write a press release for a
(22:10):
case I make sure I always get withoutprosecutor, just because these cases
are so sensitive, I always include themin any communications externally about
the case just so that nothing's ever.
Ruined, but, and I think they alwaysappreciate that, that they know what's
going on and what they read tomorrow.
(22:32):
They know.
So yeah.
So there, yeah, definitelydifferent messages between all
three externally and internally.
And then with media for sure.
One of the things you mentionedjust there, Jalyn, was this notion
of working within the prosecutor'soffice to help appreciate or
understand what's newsworthy.
(22:53):
That's definitely a skillor a mindset, right?
Mm-hmm.
And so the question I have foryou that the, you probably had to
pick that up through experience.
So what, what skills or mindsetsdo you believe young communicators,
whether they're place yourselfback at the University of
Montana or their first role at.
What skill or mindsets do you believeyoung communicators are earlier
(23:15):
in their career communicators?
I, I know people that are 60 years old andare new to the communications profession,
so this could apply to them too.
So that are earlier in theircareer and communications.
What, what should they start developing a,as they're learning about the profession
or as they first start in the profession?
I think the most important thingthat I've learned to me is build
(23:41):
your relationships with reporters.
Make them strong.
Be responsive with reporters, becauseespecially if you're going into a.
Something like this where you're gonna bedealing with crises and you're gonna be
working with reporters a lot and havingsome tough conversations sometimes.
Make sure you build strongrelationships with reporters.
(24:04):
I make sure that I. Anytime there'slike a new reporter, make sure I get
coffee with them and get to know them.
Answer the phone every time they call.
Even if you know it's a tough conversationthat's coming, or you've had tough
conversations in the past, just answerit because you never know when a crisis
(24:25):
may come and you might need to call themand just talk to them on background or
off record and just explain to them.
What's going on, and you can't do thatunless you've built a trust with them.
So that's, I think, for me, number one.
Another thing specifically for crisiscommunications, stay calm under pressure.
(24:49):
Yeah.
Because if you're panicking,you're not making good decisions.
And yeah, just pause, breathe,be calm, because everyone
around you is looking to you as.
The communicator to make thebest decision in that moment.
So yeah, stay calm.
Stay calm.
Focus, breathing and yoga.
(25:09):
Part of the regimen for you then.
Yeah,
yeah, yeah.
It can.
It can be rough, but, and then I'd sayone more thing is also find a mentor
who will tell you the truth because.
And maybe I'll giveher a little shout out.
(25:30):
My chief of staff at the mayor'soffice, her name is Morgan Sid.
She was the communications directorbefore I started working there.
She's still my mentor today and shetold me when I messed up and she also
praised me when I did a good job.
So find someone whowill tell you the truth.
(25:50):
Will tell you when you mess up and tellyou how to do something better, because
that's where the learning happens.
And I've learned so much from my mistakesand I will never forget my mistakes.
Um, so yeah.
That's excellent.
Thank you.
That's great.
That's great.
Yeah, for sure.
And you know, it just strikes me to hearyou, you talking Jalyn, that that the
(26:11):
experience, particularly as a youngercommunicator of working in pressured
environments, I think is actually gonnaserve folks like you very, very well.
Right.
I wish I, I know when I started in,in PR I was working for an agency and.
We were doing a lot of kind ofsunshine pump things around product
launches and stuff, but I mean,the stakes were very low, right?
And so then all of a sudden, guess what?
I get hired by a client workingfor a major pharmaceutical company
(26:34):
that was having employee layoffsand product tampering, and all of
these things being thrown at me.
I had not experienced because I had notreally worked in a pressured environment.
So the experience that, that you'regetting and and communicators like you
that work in the, in those fields, Ithink is just gonna be super valuable
to you moving forward because you,you've really been through the fire,
which I think is just really cool anda credit to you for, for doing that.
(26:56):
Maybe just to kind of segue, and you'vebeen very generous with your time.
Thank you.
As, as we kind of wind up ourconversation and you, you mentioned
one, so, so if that's, if that wouldbe your main answer, let me know that.
But just having worked in the differentenvironments that you have already,
media, city, government, justice system,if you could go back, if you could go
back and talk to, you know, senior yearJalyn, for instance, what's one piece
of advice you wish you'd had at thestart of that career journey that, that
(27:20):
you think would, would've served youwell at, at that particular juncture?
I think you kind of have todevelop a thick skin, and I think
with me being so young, I got alittle bit of imposter syndrome
that maybe I, I don't belong here.
I'm too young for somethinglike this, but that's not true.
I think your work shows.
(27:41):
For it, no matter what age you are andgoing back to develop your thick skin,
you will get criticized and I mean, notyou personally, but your organization.
And it will feel personal,but don't take it personal.
And I think you kind of haveto differentiate the trolls
(28:01):
from legitimate criticism.
And I wish I would'velearned that earlier.
Yeah, that's, that's a tough one.
That's a tough one to learn, by the way.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I still would deal with ittoday, but I wish someone
would've told me that earlier.
Yeah, that's the whole IRAglass thing that I love.
I don't know if you've seen thosevideos Jalyn about particularly people.
(28:25):
Like yourself and others that areearlier in their career and you know,
they're just uber talented, right?
And, but you maybe not haveencountered all those failures.
And so there's a whole video seriesabout Ira Glass around having great
taste and great, the desire for greatability, but you're not just there yet.
(28:46):
So you have this whole impostersyndrome about you and you just,
he calls it getting out the suck.
You just have to get the, like, youjust have to get all the suck out.
And just get through.
And it's just the 10,000 hours ofgetting all this crap out of your
system and not worrying about beingan imposter, just like firing forward.
So, yeah,
I love that.
Yeah.
(29:07):
Yeah.
Confidence, confidence is so important.
Exactly.
And then, you know, I see it, I, I,I try to remind myself all the time
working with, you know, what will benew graduates in, in this field that,
you know, you gotta be confident.
You, you know, it's the whole thing.
You can do hard, we cando hard things, right.
We just mm-hmm.
And so keeping that reminder.
Piece up I think is just super important.
So
yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Thank you.
As Matt, this has been great.
(29:27):
As Matt has mentioned, we'vereally appreciated this.
Is there anything elseyou'd like to mention?
Like we are not all knowing, we arenot all being in the questions that
we framed here, so is there anythingelse that you'd like to mention to our,
our audience that we may have missed?
I don't think so.
I really appreciate youguys for having me on.
This has been really cool.
(29:48):
Maybe I, I will just shout outour prosecutor, Melissa Johnson.
She is the first black prosecutoryoungest ever elected in Jackson County.
And I think just being a part ofthat, it just means a lot to me.
And then also, if you wanna follow uson our social media platforms to see
that transparency we've been talkingabout in action, our Instagram is.
(30:12):
JCO Prosecutor, JACO, prosecutor,Instagram and X, and then Jackson
County Prosecutor on Facebook.
That's excellent.
We'll make sure to featurethe links to the social media
accounts and the show notes.
And while we're at it, while we're, we'redoing a shout out, let's give another
shout out to the mentor, your mentor.
Again, I love that youshouted out your mentor.
(30:34):
I want you to do it one more time.
That'd be awesome.
Yes.
Morgan Saeed.
She is the best.
She is brilliant in the communicationsand government world, period.
So she's amazing.
Okay, so we'll make sure she gets ashout out in the show notes and then
also when we post this on social media,she'll get tagged and, and tagged in this
and make sure that she understands thatyou shared the love of her mentorship.
(30:56):
'cause that's what the show's allabout is professional development
and mentorship's a huge part of that.
Well, we've really enjoyedthe conversation today, Jalyn.
Thank you so much for.
For joining us and being with us today.
Thank you.
Really appreciate theopportunity for you guys.
Thank you.
Thanks, Jalyn.
If you found value in today'sepisode, check us out on our
(31:17):
website cultivated marketer.com.
You'll also be able to subscribe to us.
Rate us, and leave us a comment onyour favorite podcast platform such as
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher.
Remember, a garden of opportunity grows.
With cultivated marketer.
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